The Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and the John H. Butterfield Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship.

Jacob McCauley of Taylorville has been awarded the Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and Travis Winans of Taylorville has been awarded the John H. Butterfield Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship.

A full-time phlebotomist at Taylorville Memorial Hospital, Jacob McCauley is a current student at Lincoln Land Community College.  An eager learner, Jake has exhibited an attitude of adaptability and willingness to seek out learning opportunities in the clinical setting. Proving to be a very bright, patient, caring and resourceful young man, he has held himself accountable and unwavering, managing a full time job and raising a family while continuing to pursue his degree in nursing. 

As a charter member of the St. Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation, Carolyn Butterfield understood the importance of a rural hospital. Through her trust, Mrs. Butterfield provided an endowment that funds scholarships annually. It was her wish to financially assist Christian County students pursuing a career in healthcare especially in the field of nursing.

“Her hope was to help reverse the shortage of these professionals in our service area,” says Raedena Ryan, executive director of the TMH Foundation. “Through her vision, nearly $24,000 has been awarded in support of healthcare education.”

A recent graduate of Lake Land Community College, Travis Winans has worked various jobs to support his education.  The son of Ben and Amy Winans, Travis had his own mowing business and worked with a local farmer while attending Lake Land.  Now a student at University of Illinois studying Crops Agribusiness, Travis hopes to work for a wholesale supplier of crop protection inputs to take part in helping feed the ever-growing population.

Agriculture remains one of the driving economic impacts in our local community and John Butterfield spent a lifetime promoting agriculture in Illinois and around the world. Raised on a farm in Christian County, John received a degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois and then taught high school for several years before working as an appraiser for the Farm Credit Administration. He returned to the family farm in 1940 and was actively involved with the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers and Feed Grain Council. John served for many years on the local and state Advisory Conservation Board and was a strong advocate for soil conservation.

“The Butterfield family established this scholarship to honor their father’s dedication to agriculture. Awarding this scholarship to a young person preparing for a career in agriculture or nutrition exemplifies John’s life-long interest in education,” says Ryan.

The application deadline for the 2019 Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and John H. Butterfield Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship is April 1.  The application will soon to be available on the Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s website at TaylorvilleMemorial.org/Foundation.

The Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation is a nonprofit, incorporated as a 501(c)3. Organized in 1995, the TMH Foundation supports the Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s mission to improve the health of the people and communities it serves.